Emergency dispatchers brace for first big storm of the season on Vancouver Island
An expected 'bomb cyclone' has emergency responders bracing for an increase in activity as the storm moves onto Vancouver Island Thursday and into the weekend.
Staff levels at the Fire Dispatch Centre in Campbell River were increased in anticipation of higher call volumes.
Dispatch centre manager Stephanie Bremer says storm warnings often come this time of year, but this event was expected to be different.
"We have had spurts of additional call volume," she said. "We do anticipate as the storm moves down the island we will see more calls coming in."
Bremer says dispatchers are able to track where the storm is travelling as the calls shift between the 69 different departments they oversee on the island. That's in addition to 11 locations in the Peace River region.
"Quite frequently we'll start to see calls come in on the North Island and they'll start to move down from Sayward to Campbell River, to the Comox Valley through the Nanaimo Regional District," she said.
The bulk of those calls will be of a predictable nature.
"The majority of the calls that come through to us during storm events is downed hydro lines, motor vehicle accidents, people who might be trapped in their homes because a tree has fallen and brought some hydro lines down with it," Bremer said.
The dispatch centre manager says they will often remind the public to stay at least a school-bus' length distance away from downed lines and to always assume the lines are still active.
The storm was already having a noticeable impact on the northern tip of the island, where four ferry routes were cancelled. BC Ferries spokesperson Deborah Marshall said those routes included the run between Port McNeill and Sointula and Alert Bay; the Port Hardy to Prince Rupert run; Prince Rupert to Haida Gwaii and also a minor route operating within Haida Gwaii.
Other routes were being monitored Thursday.
"We are closely monitoring the weather situation, particularly in the Northern Gulf Islands, but at the present time it looks like we might be okay," Marshall said.
At the Cape Scott lighthouse station, keeper Harvey Humchitt Jr. says the winds have already been increasing.
"The sea conditions are starting to pick up a bit, there's a lot more whitecaps, we're starting to see some blowing spray now," he said.
Humchitt says this is the start of the hurricane force season, but what they're preparing for is even more intense.
"This one here is a really strong one," Humchitt said. "Usually when we've had hurricane force winds at the beginning, they're about 60 to 70 knots. This is the first winds we've had this year that have gone all of the way up to 90 knots, so that's quite a strength."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Why these immigrants to Canada say they're thinking about leaving, or have already moved on
For some immigrants, their dreams of permanently settling in Canada have taken an unexpected twist.
DEVELOPING Live updates from the Trump hush money trial: Stormy Daniels, bookkeeper testify
Adult film star Stormy Daniels is on the stand a second time Thursday as former U.S. president Donald Trump’s hush money case continues in Manhattan. Follow live updates here.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Here are the ultraprocessed foods you most need to avoid, according to a 30-year study
Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods can have a detrimental impact on health. But 30 years of research show they don’t all have the same impact.
Ontario man frustrated after $3,500 paving job leaves driveway in shambles
An Ontario man considering having his driveway paved received a quote from a company for $7,000, but then, another paver in the neighbourhood knocked on his door and offered half that rate.
BREAKING Sheldon Keefe out as head coach of Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have fired head coach Sheldon Keefe. The team made the announcement Thursday after the Original Six franchise lost to the Boston Bruins in seven games in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Boeing 737 catches fire and skids off the runway at a Senegal airport, injuring 10 people
A Boeing 737-300 plane carrying 85 people skidded off a runway at the airport in Dakar, Senegal's capital, injuring 10 people, according to the transport minister, an airline safety group and footage from a passenger that showed the aircraft on fire.
Breast cancer screening should start at age 40, Canadian Cancer Society says
The Canadian Cancer Society says all provinces and territories should lower the starting age for breast cancer screening to 40.
Man accused of killing two children at Quebec daycare to stand trial in April 2025
The man accused of murdering two children and injuring six others after a city bus crashed into a Montreal-area daycare is scheduled to stand trial over five weeks beginning in April 2025.